The expedition to Southeast Asia’s highest mountain

Mt. Kinabalu is the largest mountain in Borneo, in Malaysia and – as a matter of fact – in Southeast Asia between the peaks of the Himalaya and the mountain ranges of New Guinea. At 4,095m, it is higher than any peak in alpine Austria or Spain’s tallest mountain El Teide and ranked as the 20^th most prominent peak in the world as it is not part of a larger mountain range. Have Ana and Simon become serious mountaineers or how did they make it?

First view of Mt. Kinabalu from the bus getting the group to the National Park

The top of Mt. Kinabalu

Ana and Simon being very optimistic before starting their ascent

To tell you how this part of their Asian adventure developed, you need to know that – despite its prominence – Mt. Kinabalu is also considered as one of the most accessible peaks which makes it an attractive destination for people who think they can make it there - basically, no mountaineering skills are required. Ana had heard great things about Borneo and Mt. Kinabalu from her colleagues and Simon learned about tracks to the mountain when fellow INSEAD students went there earlier in 2013 and were deeply impressed. They assembled a team of six (including them) which truly reflected the diverse background of people that they have met over the year in Singapore: two British, one British-Tunisian, one French and the German / Spanish team would climb the mountain on a long weekend in November. 

International mountain expedition ready to go

 Ana, Simon and the group flew from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu (or KK), a provincial capital in the North of Malaysian Borneo on Friday night. They spent the night at an affordable hotel and were picked up by their tour operator to be driven to the Mt. Kinabalu National Park. They met their tour guide, could look at the challenge ahead and were equipped with some bagged lunch. Around 9AM, off they went. The ascent on the first day is about 6km long and goes from 1,866m to 3,270m – an average of 23% ascending slope. The program for the second day would then see another 2.7km to reach the Low’s Peak (named after the first person to explore the top part of Mt. Kinabalu) at 4,095m – another 30% slope.

Yes, it was quite steep

Going uphill through dense vegetation

The ascent on the first day passes quite dense vegetation, even in areas that are higher than Germany tallest mountain that always has some ice on its top. The group of six managed thinner air and literally walking through clouds. It was tough going up but there were shelters along the way that provided space for short rests and eventually, they managed quite well and reached their hut in the afternoon. The accommodation was basic but fulfilled the needs. They knew they had to gather their strengths so after re-packing, some safety instructions and a well-deserved dinner, they hit the beds around 8PM as they knew the night would end early.

A much needed break on the way

The stop for the night

The second day started at 2:00 AM! As around 180 climbers would sleep in different huts around the same height, our guide decided to leave at 3AM to ensure that there would be less “traffic jams”. In pitchblack darkness, they were all equipped with head torches and started the ascent. The steps were larger, the trail was tougher – despite the fact that Mt. Kinabalu is well-accessible, getting to the summit does not come easy. At places, they could see a procession of lights above and below them, passing quite many fellow mountaineers and the group was well in time to reach the summit for sunrise. Suddenly, the vegetation stopped and everyone needed to walk over naked granite rocks – incl. some parts where one needed to pull oneself up with the help of a rope. Slowly, some structures became visible around the group as dawn was breaking. The last 50 meters could be climbed without the head torches and the group just made it in time for the sunrise. Let the pictures speak.

Parts of the "procession" coming up the mountain

First glimpse of light on the horizon (see the lights of fellow climbers on the lower right corner)

The sun is coming...

First view of the neighboring peak

Despite the fact that it was only 3 degrees, no one was cold. Going up the mountain created so much heat that Ana and Simon were fine with just a t-shirt and a rain jacket (that they didn’t need – yet) and after the sun had risen, it still radiated enough heat for them not to be cold. After 20 minutes on the summit, they started their descent but the adventure part of the trip was not over still. 

Sunrise behind the British-Tunisian, British, German and Spanish parts of the expedition

And there it is. Very rewarding sight!

The group of six on top!

Mt. Kinabalu literally cast quite an impressive shadow at sunrise

 The tour that they had booked (much in advance) included a “Via Ferrata” which literally means “iron street” and basically is a set of steel cables, steel steps and handles in the mountain. This way, it is possible for climbers to safely explore more extreme parts of the mountain and Ana and Simon did exactly that, together with Julien (the French) and Ed (British – know from other blog entries). The operators were super professional and the level of safety was higher than in Europe (according to people who had done it before – it was the first time for Ana and Simon). The experience there was quite different – thrilling, exhausting, scary at times but totally worth it. 

Simon coming down from the top

Ready for the Via Ferrata

Down they go

Clouds were coming in...

Crossing a "monkey bridge"

Almost done

They reached the hut around 11AM, had a second breakfast and prepared for the way down. This was actually the tricky part as the strain on the legs tends to be greater when going downhill and now, they had to go all the way down where they had the full day to go up on Saturday – after having climbed the peak, done the Via Ferrata and descended to the hut. Moreover, tropical rain started (it was actually forecasted to rain heavily during the ascent at night so they were quite lucky that the rain was delayed) and really taught them a lesson why the vegetation around Mt. Kinabalu is called “rain forest”. The group was getting tired and at the same time amazed what they had climbed up on the first day. After all, they managed to reach the station that they had departed from 30 hours earlier around 5PM and then realized that they had been exercising for 14 hours (minus one hour breakfast break). What a day.

Wet and exhausted - but happy!

Well-deserved (and pretty) set of diplomas for Ana and Simon's accomplishment

The sense of achievement cannot be underestimated. Ana and Simon felt that they had completed a Marathon and actually had the benefit of seeing an awesome sunrise while doing this. They were back in KK at night, had a well-deserved dinner and enjoyed the best shower in many years as well as a very comfortable night of sleep. The sore muscles that they had to fight the next few days were well worth the experience. No pain, no gain!

True story